1. Akechi H, Kikuchi Y, Tojo Y, Osanai H, Hasegawa T. {{Brief Report: Pointing Cues Facilitate Word Learning in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (May 30)
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reportedly have difficulty associating novel words to an object via the speaker’s gaze. It has also been suggested that their performance is related to their gaze duration on the object and improves when the object moves and becomes more salient. However, there is a possibility that they have only relied on the object’s movement and have not referenced the speaker’s cue (i.e. gaze direction). The current study with children with ASD and typically developing children aged 6-11 years demonstrated that adding another speaker’s cue (i.e. pointing) improves the performance of children with ASD. This suggests that additional speaker’s cues may help referential word learning in children with ASD.
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2. Anderson CJ, Colombo J, Unruh KE. {{Pupil and salivary indicators of autonomic dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder}}. {Dev Psychobiol};2012 (May 29)
Dysregulated tonic pupil size has been reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among the possible sources of this dysregulation are disruptions in the feedback loop between norepinephrine (NE) and hypothalamic systems. In the current study, we examined afternoon levels of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA, a putative correlate of NE) and cortisol (used to assess stress-based responses) in two independent samples of children with ASD. We found a larger pupil size and lower sAA levels in ASD, compared to typical and clinical age-matched controls. This was substantiated at the individual level, as sAA levels were strongly correlated with tonic pupil size. Relatively little diurnal variation in sAA taken in the home environment in the ASD group was also observed, while typical controls showed a significant linear increase throughout the day. Results are discussed in terms of potential early biomarkers and the elucidation of underlying neural dysfunction in ASD. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol.
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3. Attermann J, Obel C, Bilenberg N, Nordenbaek CM, Skytthe A, Olsen J. {{Traits of ADHD and autism in girls with a twin brother: a Mendelian randomization study}}. {Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry};2012 (May 29)
It has been hypothesized that prenatal exposure to testosterone may be associated with traits of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We conducted a population-based study of dizygotic female twins to elucidate this hypothesis, assuming that the sex of the co-twin influences the level of prenatal exposure to testosterone. We invited parents of 24,552 3- to 15-year-old twins to answer questionnaires on traits of ADHD and ASD. We analysed the data using a proportional odds model with sex of the co-twin as an instrumental variable for prenatal exposure to testosterone of female twins. We received responses for 6,339 girls from dizygotic twin pairs. Odds ratios for male versus female co-twin were 0.71 (95 % confidence interval 0.61-0.81) for ADHD traits and 0.74 (0.66-0.83) for ASD traits, indicating that a twin brother reduces traits of ADHD and ASD in females. In conclusion, we found that female twins with a twin brother scored significantly lower in parent-reported traits of ADHD and ASD than those with a twin sister. The reason for this may be parental reporting bias, or confounding by unmeasured variables, or a causal effect of an intrauterine environment modified by the sex of the co-twin in the opposite direction of what we expected.
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4. Bakare MO, Ebigbo PO, Ubochi VN. {{Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder among Nigerian Children with Intellectual Disability: A Stopgap Assessment}}. {J Health Care Poor Underserved};2012;23(2):513-518.
Abstract:The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among sub-Saharan African children with intellectual disability is about 0.7% more than three decades ago. During this period, the prevalence of ASD has been on the increase worldwide. Studies are not available in recent times addressing epidemiology of ASD among sub-Saharan African children. The present study assessed the prevalence of ASD among Nigerian children with intellectual disability. Forty four children with intellectual disability were assessed for diagnosis of childhood autism based on criteria specified in F84.0 section of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) Diagnostic Criteria for Research. Five (11.4%) of the children studied met the diagnostic criteria for childhood autism. Male/female ratio was 4:1. There is need for large scale epidemiological studies of ASD among sub-Saharan African children to clearly define the inter-relationship between ASD and intellectual disability in this population and to help in health care policy formulation.
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5. Ballerini A. {{Understanding autism in schizophrenia}}. {ScientificWorldJournal};2012;2012:254091.
Detachment from external reality, distancing from others, closure into a sort of virtual hermitage, and prevalence of inner fantasies, are the descriptive aspects of autism. However, from an anthropological-phenomenological point of view, in schizophrenia, the autistic mode of life can arise from a person’s being confronted with a pathological crisis in the obviousness of the intersubjective world, essentially a crisis in the intersubjective foundation of human presence. The « condition of possibility » of the autistic way of being is the deficiency of the operation that phenomenology call empathetic-intuitive constitution of the Other, an Other which is the naturalness of evidence of being a subject like me. The theme of the Other, of intersubjectivity, has become so central in the psychopathological analysis of schizophrenic disorders because the modifications of interhuman encounter cannot be seen as the secondary consequences of symptoms but constitute the fundamental disorder of schizophrenic alienation. Revision of the concept of autism from the original definition, centered on the prevalence of inner fantasies, leads to the profound change with the vision of autism as « loss » and « void. » I call attention to possibility of phenomenological research to understand autistic world starting from this « void. »
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6. Churches O, Damiano C, Baron-Cohen S, Ring H. {{Getting to know you: the acquisition of new face representations in autism spectrum conditions}}. {Neuroreport};2012 (May 24)
Social difficulties form a part of the canonical description of autism spectrum conditions (ASC), and the development of familiarity with new faces is a key ability required to navigate the social world. Here, we investigated the acquisition of new face representations in ASC by analysing the N170 and N250 event-related potential components induced by a previously unfamiliar face that was embedded in a series of other unfamiliar faces. We found that participants with ASC developed a smaller N250 component to the target face, indicating that the development of new face representations is impaired. We also found that the participants with ASC showed a smaller N170 component to both the target and the nontarget faces. This highlights the role of the early stages of face detection, structural encoding and attention in the formation of face memories in the typical population and implicates the dysfunction of these stages in the manifestation of the social difficulties observed in ASC.
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7. Focht-New G. {{Transformation through health teaching for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a qualitative study}}. {Intellect Dev Disabil};2012 (Apr);50(2):129-139.
Abstract Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have medical conditions similar to those among the general population but with more complex presentation, a extended life expectancy, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. These adults’ health education has been inadequate. In this qualitative study, the author describes the experiences of 23 registered nurses who provide health teaching to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, selection of and health topics taught, and teaching activities put into practice. The author used a rigorous descriptive, naturalistic inquiry design with purposive (n = 22) and snowball (n = 1) sampling. Data were gathered through individual interviews, focus groups, and nonparticipant observations, and analyzed with a constant comparative method. Findings concerned the educators’ developmental process, use of a social context to teach, and health-teaching activities. Registered nurses s described their transformation from insecure, novice health educators to confident and passionate educators of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Findings apply to multiple disciplines.
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8. Parish SL, Swaine JG, Luken K, Rose RA, Dababnah S. {{Cervical and Breast Cancer-screening Knowledge of Women with Developmental Disabilities}}. {Intellect Dev Disabil};2012 (Apr);50(2):79-91.
Abstract Women with developmental disabilities are significantly less likely than women without disabilities to receive cervical and breast cancer screening according to clinical guidelines. The reasons for this gap are not understood. The present study examined the extent of women’s knowledge about cervical and breast cancer screening, with the intention of informing the development and testing of interventions to increase cervical and breast cancer screening rates for these women. In a sample of 202 community-dwelling women with developmental disabilities, most women had little knowledge of cervical and breast cancer screening. Women who were living at home with family caregivers had the most limited understanding of cervical and breast cancer screening. Policy and practice implications are discussed.
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9. Rosqvist HB. {{Normal for an asperger: notions of the meanings of diagnoses among adults with asperger syndrome}}. {Intellect Dev Disabil};2012 (Apr);50(2):120-128.
Abstract This study explores the production of a counterhegemonic discourse of « autistic normalcy » among adults with high-functioning autism by analyzing notions of diagnosis. The discourse analyses are based on material from ethnographic fieldwork in a Swedish educational setting. Study participants were 3 male and 9 female adults who had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. The notion of diagnosis comprises issues concerning coming out and knowledge production. The findings capture an ongoing reformulation process among people involved in the autistic self-advocacy movement when it comes to the meanings of Asperger syndrome and what it means to be a person with Asperger syndrome.
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10. Samson AC, Huber O, Gross JJ. {{Emotion Regulation in Asperger’s Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism}}. {Emotion};2012 (May 28)
It is generally thought that individuals with Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) have deficits in Theory of Mind. These deficits have been previously linked to problems with social cognition. However, we reasoned that AS/HFA individuals’ Theory of Mind deficits also might lead to problems with emotion regulation. To assess emotional functioning in AS/HFA, 27 AS/HFA adults (16 women) and 27 age-, gender-, and education-matched typically developing (TD) participants completed a battery of measures of emotion experience, labeling, and regulation. With respect to emotion experience, individuals with AS/HFA reported higher levels of negative emotions, but similar levels of positive emotions, compared with TD individuals. With respect to emotion labeling, individuals with AS/HFA had greater difficulties identifying and describing their emotions, with approximately two-thirds exceeding the cutoff for alexithymia. With respect to emotion regulation, individuals with AS/HFA used reappraisal less frequently than TD individuals and reported lower levels of reappraisal self-efficacy. Although AS/HFA individuals used suppression more frequently than TD individuals, no difference in suppression self-efficacy was found. It is important to note that these differences in emotion regulation were evident even when controlling for emotion experience and labeling. Implications of these deficits are discussed, and future research directions are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
